Improvement in brick-machines



.iSheets-Shet I; '0. "A. HEGE. Brick-Machine.

N0; 222,902. Patented Dec. 23,1879.

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a Sflets-Sheeti C. A. HEGE. Brick-Machine.

No. 222,902. Patented Dec. 23, 187.9.

WITQN'ESSES r INVENTORQ 3 W 13/4 4.

6/ ATTORNEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

V O. A. HEGE. Brick-Machine.

No. 222,902. Patented Dec. 23, 1879' INVENTOR 7 6mm w g, ATTORNEY N.PETERS, PNOTO-LITHDGRA FHER CONSTANTINE A. HEGE, OF SALEM,

ASSIGNOR OF TWOTHIRDS OF HIS RIGHT TO PATRICK FRANCIS DUFFY AND JAMESEDWARD ALLEN, OF

GREENSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA.

IMPROVEMENT IN BRICK-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 222,902, dated December23, 1879; application filed November 4, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CoNsrAN'rINE ALEX- ANDER HEGE, of Salem, in thecounty of Forsythe and State of North Carolina, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Brick-Machines; and i do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe'constructiou and operation of the same, reference being bad to theannexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to theletters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure l of the drawings is a representation of a side elevation of ourimproved brick-machine. Fig.2 is a central-longitudinal section thereof,taken on a vertical plane. Fig. 3 is a top or plan view; and Fig. 4, aperspective view of the double adjustable cam.

My present invention relates to brick-machines, and is mainly designedas an improvement upon a machine of this class secured to me by LettersPatent of July 2, 1878.

My improvement consists in a duplex intermittent mutilated gearing, arocking plunger for forcing and pressing the clay into the molds, and anadjustable double cam for re-pressing the brick and forcing the same outof the molds, all as hereinafter set forth.

Having thus briefly enumerated the distinctive features in my invention,I will proceed to describe the construction and operation of my machine,with reference by letter to the accompanying drawings, so as to enablethose skilled in the art to make and use the same.

A designates the drum, which is mounted in a suitable frame, B, and Crefers to the table upon which the tempered clay is discharged from thepug-mill previously to being forced by the plunger into the molds of thedrum. This drum contains four molds, a, with movable bottoms b, whichmay be'thrown out even with the circumference of the drum, or drawn backwithin the molds to a depth more than equal to the thickness of a brick.

The mold-bottoms have rollers b on their inner sides toward the centerof the drum, and

they arealso provided with gudgeons or guidepins b which are arranged tomove in slots D, formed in the sides of the drum. The rollers of thesemovable mold-bottoms are acted upon just at the proper time and to theproper degree by means of a double cam, E, for the purpose ofre-pressing the brick and forcing them.

out of the molds.

The double cam comprises a short sleeve secured upon a shaft, Gr, havingthe two camprojections c e, the upper one, 6, of which operates, inconjunction with an exterior platen, for re-pressing. the brick, whilethe lower canifaced projection, e, is arranged to force outward themovable bottoms for the purpose ofdischarging the pressed brick from themolds the rod in its screw-threaded bearing f the cam can be extendedout from the sleeve in proportion to the wear incurred, and washersemployed to fill up the space between the end of the socket and thecampiece.

The shaft G extends through the center or axis of the drum, and is givena reciprocating Y movement independent of the drum by means of acrank-shaft, H, which connects with a cross-bar of the plunger I. Theplunger receives its motion from two pitmen, K, one on i each side,which connect with wrist-pins upon the gear-wheels L and M. Thesegear-wheels are mounted upon a common main shaft, N, and are driven by adriving-shaft, O, which is provided with a cog-wheel, 1?, arranged tointcrmesh with the gear-wheel L. The shaft 0 also imparts a continuousmotion to an endless belt, P, arranged upon rollers below the drum, bymeans of adriving-belt, Q, which passes-around the said shaft, and alsoaround a'pulley-wheel, q, upon an axis of one of the rollers. During theoperation of the machine the said endless belt or apron P has a steadycontinuous movement, for the purpose of carrying off the brick as theyare discharged from the mold, while the remaining operative parts of themachine have the intermittent motions hereinafter more particularlydescribed.

The main shaft N carries a cam, 02, which acts at intervals upon aroller, 71, in the back of a platen, R, and this, at the proper time,presses the platen against the'face of the mold, to prevent the escapeof the clay while being re-pressed from the bottom of the molds.

The drum has an intermittent motion, and makes one-fourth of arevolution at a time. When not in motion it is held rigidly in the rightposition while receiving the clay pressed into the molds by the plunger,repressing the bricks in the mold on the opposite side, and forcing themout of the mold underneath. This motion of the drum and holding it inposition is effected by means of two peculiarlyconstructed cog wheelsgearing into each other, one of the said wheels being secured to one endof the journal on which the drum revolves, and the remaining wheel beingsecured on the endof the main shaft N. These two wheels constitute aduplex intermittent mutilated gearing, the construction of which is asfollows The wheel S, which is secured upon one of the journals of thedrum, is formed with its gear-teeth in four sections, 8, and with theconcaved faces 8 between the said sections of teeth. It is also providedwith gear sections or segments 8 alongside of its concaved faces 8, therims. of the said segments being made to correspond with the concavityof the adjajacent-concaved faces.

The wheel M, which is mounted upon the main shaft, is formed with asingle section, m, of gear-teeth, which intermesh with the teeth uponthe above-described wheel S, the remaining portion of the periphery ofthe wheel M being formed of a plain face, so that the wheel S will havebut one-quarter of 'a revolution by the engagement of the teeth uponwheel M with one of its sections of gearing, and will remain stationaryso long as the plain face of the actuating-wheel and one of its ownconcaved faces are opposed to each other. The wheel M is also providedwith two teeth, m, alongsideof its section of gear in, these teeth beingarranged one at each end of said section, so as to engage with the teethof the segments of gear upon the wheel S, both for the purpose ofstarting said wheel in order to bring the gear s-into mesh with the gearm, and also to bring the concaved faces of the wheel in opposition tothe plain rim of the driving-gear wheel M.

T designates cams upon the main frame of the machine and at the sides ofthe drum, which cams are so arranged that during the revolution of thedrum and after the brick have been forced out of the molds the gudgeonsof the mold-bottoms will strike against the said cams, thus forcing thebottoms back to their normal positions.

.The platen is pivoted to blocks U, which are arranged alongside of thedrum in such position that they will materially aid inkeeping the brickwithin the molds during the process of re-pressing the same.

In practice we face the mold-bottoms, the platen, and the end of theplunger with felt, cloth, or some other porous or fibrous substance soclose in texture as to prevent the pores being filled with the clay, yetopen enough to permit the air to circulate through, and at the same timeto serve to some extent as a reservoir for oil. The felt beingnon-adhesive, the clay does not adhere to it, and when the brick ispushed from the mold the felt lining prevents it from adhering to thebottom. This facing or lining of felt or the like will be secured inplace by fastening it upon a primary facing of wood, which in turn canbe secured upon a metal bed; or, if preferred, the felt or wool can besecured directly upon a metal surface.

It will be evident that one or two rollers can bejournaled upon thedouble cam, which is within the drum, and that in such case the rollersupon the mold-bottoms may be dispensed with, the same result beingobtained as by the arrangement before described.

In operating our machine, the clay, just as it is dug from the bank orpit, is delivered in a pile near by, and if too dry a sufficientquantity of water is thrown over it, so as to properly moisten the same.It is then shoveled into the hopper of a; pug-mill, (which 'WG'lltLVGnot deemed it necessary to illustrate,) where it is thoroughlypulverized, tempered, and discharged by the action of the cast-ironknives placed spirally upon a revolving shaft extend ing horizontallythrough the pug-mill.

The tempered clay, when discharged from the pug-mill, falls in suchposition that it is readily pressed into the mold by the plunger with avery heavy pressure.

After the plunger is withdrawn from contact with the clay in the moldthe drum makes one-fourth of a revolution by means of the intermittentmutilated gear, which brings the next mold in position to be filled; andiamvolving the full mold passes under a strong wire, V, tightly drawnagainst the face of the drum, which wire may be tightened and held tautby spring-pressure, and which servesto cut off the superfluous clay fromthe face'of the mold. The next mold being filled, the drum againrevolves, bringing another mold in position to be filled, and stoppingthe mold first filled opposite the platen, which is now firmly pressedagainst the mold by the cam upon the main shaft coming in contact withthe roller in" the back of the platen, while the cam on the shaftthrough the center of the drum, coming in contact with the roller in theback of the mold-bottom, drives the bottom toward the platen with greatforce, thus pressing the clay into the corners of the mold andpowerfully compressing it. The press- .ure is then released, and thedrum again revolves, bringing another mold into position for filling,also another to the platen, when the brick that has just been re-presscdis forced out of the mold by the action of the lower projecting face ofthe double cam upon the movable mold-bottom, the brick thus ejectedfalling upon the belt underneath the drum.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. The herein-described duplex intermittent mutilated gear, consisting;of a wheel With'sections of gear and concaved faces alternately arrangedin line upon its periphery, and with sections of gear arranged alongsideof the concaved faces, in combination with an actuating-wheel prox'idedwith a section of gear corresponding to a section of the other saidwheel, a plain-faced portion in line with its gear-section, and teethalongside of the ends of its line of teeth, all adapted to co-operatefor the purpose of imparting an intermittent motion, substantially asset forth.

2. The hereindescribed double cam, ar-

ranged upon a shaft within the drum, and adapted to act against the moldbottomsfor the purposes of re-pressin g the brick and forcing the same,when re-pressed, out. of the molds, the said cam having an adjustableface, substantially.as and for the purpose set forth.

3; The rotary drum provided with molds in which the brick are pressed,in combina- I tion with the herein-described duplex intermittentmutilated gear, which causes its rotation at stated intervals, and arocking plunger which reciprocates so as to compress the clay into themold during each period in which the drum remains stationary,substantially as herein shown and specified..

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my namein the presence of two witnesses.

O. A. HEGE.

Witnesses:

THOMAS J. WILsoN, W. A. LEMLY.

